Kansas committee hears bill to bar foreign nationals from funding campaigns over constitutional amendments

House Bill 2106 would prohibit the direct or indirect receipt of contributions from foreign nationals for the purpose of promoting or opposing amendments to the Kansas Constitution, committee staff told the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee during a hearing.

The measure, explained by a legislative staff member identified in the hearing as Jason, would amend KSA 25 (as cited in the hearing) to bar foreign-national funding tied to campaigns over constitutional amendments and would require donors who are not foreign nationals to certify they have not received more than $100,000 from foreign nationals in the preceding four years. The House Committee on Elections added provisions authorizing enforcement by the attorney general, the staff member said.

Supporters told the committee the change is needed to prevent foreign…